waxing a finished model ???

[bubbaman]

watched a video and the guy say`s he waxes  a finished model  does he actually put  TURTLE WAX  ON THIS OR WHAT ??

[Dragline]

That is the brand I use.

[Jon Haigwood]

I found out that you should NOT put on auto wax and leave it awhile. Leaves un-removable residue. Had to repaint

[MrObsessive]

I use Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax and a chamois cloth to polish things up.........been using it for years, and yes, you never want to leave wax on for long periods without rubbing it out.

Now personally, I wouldn't recommend the automotive waxes for anything other than automotive paints-------namely Lacquers, Acrylic Enamels, Urethanes, etc.

Hobby paints such as regular enamels are a bit too weak to take the harshness of the waxes and can simply make a mess of things.

[Nacho Z]

I wait until my paint is fully cured and my decals are dry.  When I was building NASCAR models, I used "The Treatment" wax and would wax right over the decals and all.  I've never had a problem.  However, I cannot speak to other brands of wax.

[gtx6970]

I use the spray on detailer , over decals and all . Never had a problem .

Like said AFTER the paint has had time to really cure. It may be weeks or months before I do it.

But I'm not opposed to taking them out once in a  while to dust  them and respray the wax either.

 

Ps, I've used the paste wax type before but IMO its hard to clean up on a model.

Edited April 3, 2016 by gtx6970

[Mike_G]

I've used "The Treatment" wax in the past and liked it, also Meguiars #7

[Snake45]

I was a fairly regular user of The Treatment wax about 20 years ago. Best product of its kind I ever found. BUT I found out that, for me, it had more drawbacks than benefits, so I quit using it. I get a nice shine through polishing now, not wax.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I use Turtle Wax "Scratch & Swirl Remover" as the final application on mine when I'm polishing.

Right before I add all of the small external parts like mirrors, antennas, hood ornaments, etc, I give it a once over with Novus "Clean & Shine".

 

Steve

[SfanGoch]

I use Novus Plastic Clean & Shine to achieve a high gloss. It doesn't affect enamel, acrylic or lacquers.

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by SfanGoch

[martinfan5]

I use Novus Plastic Clean & Shine to achieve a high gloss. It doesn't affect enamel, acrylic or lacquers.

 

I have and tried all three of the different levels of Novus and was less than impressed,  but my understanding is Novus is meant to be used directly on plastic and not on paint.  

 

[Longbox55]

I generally do not wax my builds. I do polish them out, however. I personally use Turtle Wax liquid rubbing and polishing compounds, which seem to do alright with both 1:1 car paint and hobby enamels and lacquers in my own experience.

[MrBuick]

I found out that you should NOT put on auto wax and leave it awhile. Leaves un-removable residue. Had to repaint

Same principal as a 1:1...you should never leave wax on paint and let it dry. It can be usually buffed out and fixed on a real car, but it's not a good idea to leave it on there.

[SfanGoch]

I have and tried all three of the different levels of Novus and was less than impressed,  but my understanding is Novus is meant to be used directly on plastic and not on paint.  

 

Works for me. No swirls and nice, smooth glassy finish.

[martinfan5]

Works for me. No swirls and nice, smooth glassy finish.

And that is all that matters

[Art Anderson]

In a very real way, wax is was.  I almost always was a newly painted body shell before final assembly!

 

Art
 

 

 

[Art Anderson]

In a very real way, wax is was.  I almost always was a newly painted body shell before final assembly!

 

Art
 

Wax is wax, to me at least!

 

 

[Jantrix]

After a contest this past weekend, it became very clear to me that I'm going to have to master polishing out a paint job if I want to do better. Any good Youtube tutorials? My attempts in the past have not been successful. I've burned through two very nice paint jobs on a corner or edge. Its hard to avoid them is you want the whole model shiny and not just the large open areas.

[High octane]

I have had a jar of the Treatment wax for several years now and never used it. Wax is a protectant, and I have no reason to use it after polishing out the body with polishing cloths of different grits. On 1:1 cars I use wax to  protect the paint from the elements.

[Yenkocamaro]

I generally do not wax my builds. I do polish them out, however. I personally use Turtle Wax liquid rubbing and polishing compounds, which seem to do alright with both 1:1 car paint and hobby enamels and lacquers in my own experience.

Ditto, and in recent years, I use the Novus also. 

Cheers,

Lance 

[tbill]

i just polish with meguires 105 and 205, but i also only use lacquers.

[Pete J.]

In spite of appearances to the contrary there are actually two different conversations going on here and that is because of the use of the word "wax".   Wax should mean a coating that when applied lays down a highly reflective surface.  Unfortunately, if you go to the wax aisle in an auto parts store, what you get most often is a mix of polishing compound and wax, because most cars need a bit of polishing in addition to waxing to look their best.   

To have this discussion make sense, you need to differentiate between polishing and waxing.  Polishing paint is a process that levels the surface by cutting away paint until it is level with a series of different polishes and/or abrasive pads/papers.  The idea is akin to a mirror.  To get the best reflection the surface that is silvered must be as smooth and level as possible so that light is reflected in as uniform a manner as possible.  Any irregularities in the surface will cause the light to scatter and the reflection will not be as bright.  On a model this means that you start with flat sanding sticks to level the surface and get rid of all the orange peel, drips and unevenness.  Then you have to switch over to getting rid of the sanding marks.  You do that by resanding with progressively finer grits until you get down to a fine polishing paste. If done right you will have a high gloss finish, but regardless of how fine a grit you use, if you look under a microscope, you will always see some very fine scratches. 

This is where wax comes into play.  A pure wax, without any polishing compounds will fill those minute scratches and raise the gloss to a higher level.  Any wax will do this but it is best to select one for the type of paint that you have, otherwise if may interact with the paint and soften it and ruin the finish over time.  There are hundreds of products out there that work so pick one that works for you and stick with it.

Personally, I use a lot of different types.  I like Mothers pure carnauba, Pledge furniture polish and Tamiya model wax.  All work well for me and it is just a matter of what I have handy at the time.  Mothers has a harder finish.  Pledge is great for the "Just before the show" final touch up and Tamiya wax is a good in-between wax.

[StevenGuthmiller]

In spite of appearances to the contrary there are actually two different conversations going on here and that is because of the use of the word "wax".   Wax should mean a coating that when applied lays down a highly reflective surface.  Unfortunately, if you go to the wax aisle in an auto parts store, what you get most often is a mix of polishing compound and wax, because most cars need a bit of polishing in addition to waxing to look their best.   

To have this discussion make sense, you need to differentiate between polishing and waxing.  Polishing paint is a process that levels the surface by cutting away paint until it is level with a series of different polishes and/or abrasive pads/papers.  The idea is akin to a mirror.  To get the best reflection the surface that is silvered must be as smooth and level as possible so that light is reflected in as uniform a manner as possible.  Any irregularities in the surface will cause the light to scatter and the reflection will not be as bright.  On a model this means that you start with flat sanding sticks to level the surface and get rid of all the orange peel, drips and unevenness.  Then you have to switch over to getting rid of the sanding marks.  You do that by resanding with progressively finer grits until you get down to a fine polishing paste. If done right you will have a high gloss finish, but regardless of how fine a grit you use, if you look under a microscope, you will always see some very fine scratches. 

This is where wax comes into play.  A pure wax, without any polishing compounds will fill those minute scratches and raise the gloss to a higher level.  Any wax will do this but it is best to select one for the type of paint that you have, otherwise if may interact with the paint and soften it and ruin the finish over time.  There are hundreds of products out there that work so pick one that works for you and stick with it.

Personally, I use a lot of different types.  I like Mothers pure carnauba, Pledge furniture polish and Tamiya model wax.  All work well for me and it is just a matter of what I have handy at the time.  Mothers has a harder finish.  Pledge is great for the "Just before the show" final touch up and Tamiya wax is a good in-between wax.

You're correct Pete.

I've been polishing my models for decades but haven't used "wax" in probably 10 or 15.

I used to get good results with "The Treatment" pure carnuba model car wax.

Maybe I should try some again.

 

Steve

 

[Muncie]

Starting with he excellent information from Bill, Pete, Steve -

I'm not aware of wax being used on the top show cars - they live a charmed life.and most waxes will take the shine down a bit. Polish yes, Glaze yes, wax no -  On a driver, wax provides a level of protection for the paint and is worthwhile.

My go to's are Mequiers' cleaner wax very gently for Testors Model Master paints - that's about as strong abrasive as you want to go with Testor's. - Jsut like Bill said

For automotive paints, it's Mother's California Gold Micro Polishing Glaze - it's step #2 in their three part system.- no wax   For heavier cutting, it's Ditzler/PPG  DRX25 polishing compound (finish and rub).  It's a machine compound, but the finer abrasive works great on a model

Two more points -

The best paint jobs, and my results were due to good fortune rather than skill - were paint jobs that came out so good that they didn't need to be polished - polishing that paint would have introduced a chance for mistakes and would not have improved the shine. It's something to try for

If you ask 20 model builders about paint or polishing, you'll get at least 25 different answers... Some will only work for one person, some won't work at all no matter how much effort goes into it...  Best to try a couple different methods and see what works for you

 

[Harry Joy]

In spite of appearances to the contrary there are actually two different conversations going on here and that is because of the use of the word "wax".   Wax should mean a coating that when applied lays down a highly reflective surface.  Unfortunately, if you go to the wax aisle in an auto parts store, what you get most often is a mix of polishing compound and wax, because most cars need a bit of polishing in addition to waxing to look their best.   

To have this discussion make sense, you need to differentiate between polishing and waxing.  Polishing paint is a process that levels the surface by cutting away paint until it is level with a series of different polishes and/or abrasive pads/papers.  The idea is akin to a mirror.  To get the best reflection the surface that is silvered must be as smooth and level as possible so that light is reflected in as uniform a manner as possible.  Any irregularities in the surface will cause the light to scatter and the reflection will not be as bright.  On a model this means that you start with flat sanding sticks to level the surface and get rid of all the orange peel, drips and unevenness.  Then you have to switch over to getting rid of the sanding marks.  You do that by resanding with progressively finer grits until you get down to a fine polishing paste. If done right you will have a high gloss finish, but regardless of how fine a grit you use, if you look under a microscope, you will always see some very fine scratches. 

This is where wax comes into play.  A pure wax, without any polishing compounds will fill those minute scratches and raise the gloss to a higher level.  Any wax will do this but it is best to select one for the type of paint that you have, otherwise if may interact with the paint and soften it and ruin the finish over time.  There are hundreds of products out there that work so pick one that works for you and stick with it.

Personally, I use a lot of different types.  I like Mothers pure carnauba, Pledge furniture polish and Tamiya model wax.  All work well for me and it is just a matter of what I have handy at the time.  Mothers has a harder finish.  Pledge is great for the "Just before the show" final touch up and Tamiya wax is a good in-between wax.

I learned this difference the hard way a few models back, which I had to strip and repaint.